Traditionally, bio-organic compounds of interest have been manufactured by extraction from natural sources such as plants, microbes, and animals. However, extraction yields are usually very low as most bio-organic compounds accumulate in nature in small amounts. Given that these quantities are far less than is for many commercial applications, there remains a need for systems and procedures that produce bio-organic compounds on an industrial scale.
The present invention addresses this need. Provided are various industrial-scale systems for making bio-organic compounds using host cells. These bio-organic compounds have at least five carbon atoms and can be a carbohydrate such as a mono- or poly-alcohol, ester, ether, aldehyde, ketone, or a hydrocarbon such as an alkane, alkene, or alkyne. The bio-organic compound can be linear or cyclic and can be saturated or unsaturated.